Mental Health and Social Inclusion

Publisher:: Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Publication date:: 2021-02-01

ISBN:: 2042-8308

Issue Number

No. 29-1, January - August - August - July - July - July - July - July - June 2024

Latest documents

Editorial: From positive autoethnography to success and meaning
Editorial
Editorial
Assessing the impact of emotional distress on internet gaming disorder among youth in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional survey
Purpose: As technology becomes more widely accessible, there is a growing concern about internet gaming disorder (IGD) around the world. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of IGD and also assess the effects of depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia levels on the IGD of youths in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional quantitative study design was used to collect data from the youths of different locations in Bangladesh between October 21, 2023 and January 15, 2024. A total of 501 samples were collected using the convenience sampling technique. The following measurement scales were Internet Gaming Disorder Scale short form, depression, anxiety and stress scales and insomnia severity index, which were used to assess scores for IGD, psychological distress and insomnia, respectively. Findings: The study found that the prevalence of IGD was 9.8%. IGD was shown to be significantly associated with depression, anxiety and stress. Aside from that, IGD and insomnia had a significant association, as did a friendly family environment. Research limitations/implications: The generalizability of the results could be improved by conducting additional studies with a more diverse sample, such as the general population or a different age group. Practical implications: The study will help the government reduce the prevalence of IGD, improving the mental and physical health of youth. Originality/value: No research has been conducted on youth and different professions in Bangladesh. There has also been very little research on the prevalence of gaming addiction and mental health.
Mental health and positive introversion: a positive autoethnographic case study of Mark Weeks
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to garner insight into positive introversion, meaning experiences of introverted behaviour that may be perceived as positive and perform positive functions in one’s life. The subject is Mark Weeks, whose primary research has been in cultural studies and philosophy, particularly focusing on laughter and humour, during a career spent mostly at Nagoya University in Japan. Design/methodology/approach: This case study uses positive autoethnography, a methodology that was co-conceived by Weeks. It includes a 10-question interview. Findings: The authors learn how Weeks has positively embraced his introversion to negotiate challenges in his life, fostering resilience, gratitude and joyful experience. In the process, Weeks foregrounds the importance of solitary laughter and humour in his existential journey. Research limitations/implications: Introversion is often depicted negatively in the literature. Yet, much introversion is and can be developed as, positive. Practical implications: The narrative shared here is one of trials, exploration and discovery, offering practical insight for introverts and those interested in understanding introverted behaviour in general. Social implications: Positively embracing aspects of introversion can be an important step for introverts in finding a healthy and enjoyable balance between the social and the solitary. Indeed, the same may apply to extraverts who fear being alone. Greater social recognition of valuable experiences within solitude could help to produce more tolerant and adaptable societies. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is an original article, narrated by a contributor to the development of positive autoethnography. It focuses on areas of personal experience that are often marginalized and poorly understood, including positive potentials of introversion and of solitary laughter.
Effect of lay counselling on mental health and TB treatment outcomes: an experience from Gujarat state, India
Purpose: Depression and anxiety are the most common comorbidities in TB patients, adversely impacting TB treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of lay counselling in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety and TB treatment completion. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a pre-post interventional research design. Patients were screened for depression and anxiety. All symptomatic TB patients were followed up and offered four to six or more lay counselling sessions whenever necessary. The authors assessed changes in depression and anxiety symptoms before lay counselling intervention and after fourth lay counselling session or the completion of TB treatment, whichever occurred the last. Findings: Approximately 6,974 TB patients were screened for symptoms of depression and anxiety. The mean age was 36.7 ± 14.7 years. Total 25.9% patients were symptomatic. About 99.8% were provided lay counselling and received at least one to two follow-up sessions, while two patients who screened with severe depression were referred to a mental health specialist. Nearly 96.9% TB patients did not report symptoms of depression or anxiety after four lay counselling sessions, and TB treatment completion rate was higher among symptomatic TB patients who completed at least four counselling sessions (92.5%). Practical implications: Lay counselling services delivered by field coordinators offer a promising approach to address mental health comorbidities among TB patients in resource-limited settings. Originality/value: It explores a novel approach – lay counselling delivered by field coordinators – in tackling depression and anxiety among TB patients, which is a potentially scalable solution in resource-limited settings.
Love of life as a measure of quality of life
Purpose: Love of life (LOL) is a new construct in positive psychology. LOL is defined by a generally positive evaluation of one’s own life, positive regard towards life and a pleasurable attachment to life. The purpose of this study is that LOL is associated with quality of life (QOL) and could be predicted by some of its subscales. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of Alexandria University undergraduates took part in this study (n = 298). They responded to the WHOQOL Brief and LOL scales. Findings: Men obtained significantly higher mean total scores than did women for general health, and the physical and psychological domains of QOL. All the Pearson correlations between LOL and QOL were significant except for two correlations for women. The strongest correlation with LOL is for the psychological QOL domain. Principal components analysis extracted one component for men which was labeled “QOL and LOL.” For women, two components were extracted, which were labeled “QOL and LOL” and “General and physical health.” Predictors of LOL were psychological and social QOL domains (men), and psychological, social and environmental QOL domains (women). It was concluded that LOL is associated with QOL, in particular, the psychological subscale. Furthermore, LOL can predict QOL, in particular, the psychological and social domains. Research limitations/implications: This study used nonprobability sampling with a sample of students drawn from only one university. So, it may be difficult to generalize the findings. Originality/value: LOL is a comparatively new concept in the field of positive psychology.
Mental health and meaning: a positive autoethnographic case study of Paul Wong
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to meet Professor Paul T.P. Wong, PhD, CPscyh, who is based at the Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Wong represents an interesting case of how a racial/cultural minority could achieve success in a hostile environment consisting of the systemic biases of injustice, discrimination and marginalization. His life also epitomizes how one can experience the paradoxical truth of healing and flourishing in an upside-down world through the positive suffering mindset (PSM). Design/methodology/approach: This case study is presented in two sections: a positive autoethnography written by Wong, followed by his answers to ten questions. The core methodology of positive autoethnography allows people to understand how Wong’s life experience of being a war baby in China, a constant outsider and a lone voice in Western culture, has shaped a very different vision of meaning, positive mental health and global flourishing. Findings: Wong reveals how to live a life of meaning and happiness for all the suffering people in a difficult world. He has researched the positive psychology of suffering for 60 years, from effective coping with stress and searching for meaning to successful aging and positive death. According to Wong’s suffering hypothesis and the emerging paradigm of existential positive psychology (Wong, 2021), cultivating a PSM is essential for healing and flourishing in all seasons of life. Research limitations/implications: An expanding literature has been developed to illustrate why the missing link in well-being research is how to transcend and transform suffering into triumph. Wong reveals how this emerging area of research is still not fully embraced by mainstream psychology dominated by the individualistic Euro-American culture, and thus why, in an adversarial milieu, existential positive psychology is limited by its inability to attract more researchers to test out Wong’s suffering hypothesis. Practical implications: The wisdom and helpful tools presented here may enable people to achieve mature happiness and existential well-being even when they have a very painful past, a very difficult present and a bleak future. Social implications: This autoethnographic case study offers new grounds for hope for all those who are injured by life, marginalized by systemic biases or tormented by chronic illnesses and disorders. It also provides a road map for a better world with more decent human beings who dare to stand up for justice, integrity and compassion. Originality/value: Meaning as reflected in suffering is according to Wong the most powerful force to bring out either the worst or the best in people. The new science of suffering shows us how the authors can achieve positive transformation through cultivating a PSM, no matter how harsh one’s fate may be.
Refugees and mental wellbeing. A call for community approaches in Aotearoa New Zealand
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine community based, trauma informed to support refugee mental health and wellbeing, recognising that refugee status is met through forced displacement in which refugees have experience of personal human rights abuses and have survived atrocities in which family and community have been lost. Design/methodology/approach: A co-production approach was taken to review existing literature and policy to produce a position statement on how to better meet the needs of people who experience mental distress who are refugees. The co-production was between refugee and mental health researchers and refugee representatives. Findings: Understanding the mental health needs of refugees has conventionally focused on incidence of mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. If mental health and illness are understood as a continuum, diagnosis of mental illness indicates a significant problem, and furthermore access to services is predicated on risks associated with mental illness. When accessing mental health services, refugees have an added issue in a lack of communication availability and recognition of the trauma that they have survived. Originality/value: In this paper, a different position is advocated, that understanding the mental health of refugees can be framed more effectively as a process of recovery from trauma that emerges during resettlement, and over a long period of time before people are able to talk about the trauma they experienced. Community-based responses that enable recovery from trauma are more readily able to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of refugee communities.
Reducing barriers to help-seeking in ethnic minorities in the USA: a call for increased adoption of alternative mental health approaches
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to inherent barriers to help-seeking, particularly those caused by increased globalization and diversification of our societies. It explores the underutilization of mental health resources by ethnic minority groups while highlighting some alternative treatment approaches with growing evidence bases. Design/methodology/approach: Using a literature review and comparative analysis of relevant studies, the author makes a case for increased adoption of alternative therapies; citing the evidence base for the most promising treatments which include exercise therapy, mindfulness-based therapies, yoga for depression and spirituality-based therapies. It further compares the efficacy and advantages of these therapies with common mainstream therapies. Findings: In comparison, some alternative treatment modules are just as effective, if not better than traditional, mainstream therapies for certain ailments. In conclusion, the paper calls for increased research on the efficacy of alternative therapies; and beckons service providers to explore the potential for these therapies to bridge the gap in treatment towards a more inclusive and client-centered mental health care. Originality/value: The author provides a plethora of thought-provoking ideas in this article. For instance, he tendered a different outlook on barriers to treatment by differentiating between accessibility challenges versus underutilization. He also highlights the critical impact of Eurocentrism as a contributor to barriers to treatment utilization.